Down Under
by diamondstar1808
Summary: A woman watches her marriage falls to pieces around her. Can anyone save her? NOW COMPLETE
1. Trip to the Down Under

Note: I don't own any of the characters just the story. Hope you like the story, if not no bad reviews please

She looked at herself in the mirror for the final time. Her blues eyes stared back at her. Her blonde curls fell around her and down her back. She looked fine. With a final nod, she smoothed down her black dress. The door bell rang.

'Just in time' she thought looking at the clock on the wall.

Every night, her husband came home at eight-thirty. She hurried to the door. She opened it with a sweet smile. "Hi, Rena" He said quietly. "Hi" she replied, moving out of the way for him to enter. She watched him walk in. He was a tall man about 6'4, long, wavy chestnut brown hair, and a great build. She closed the door and locked it.

"What's for dinner?" he asked tossing his coat and keys on the couch.

She followed him, entering the living room.

"Well, my parents invited us to dinner tonight. We're supposed to meet them at that new café tonight. You know the one called the Asian Café?" She said sitting down.

Nephlite Brights, her husband, stared blankly at her. His brown eyes showing nothing.

"I'm not going." He simply stated.

"Excuse me?" She said staring back at him.

"I said I'm not going. Matter-of –fact, I thought I told you this morning I didn't want to go anywhere tonight." He said sharply.

He left for their bedroom, not saying another word. She stared angrily after her husband. She got up and followed him, her anger flaring now.

"You know what? You never want to do anything with me anymore." She said angrily standing in the door way.

Nephlite took his tie off and sighed. "Serena, don't start tonight. I really don't have time for this. Look, I'm not even hungry. I have to pack for Australia tonight and make a few phone calls." He said tiredly rolling his eyes.

He was becoming to hate having to deal with her nagging. He sat on the bed for a moment to take his shoes off.

"What? Again? You didn't tell me this early this week?" She exclaimed in bewilderment.

He did many of his business deals over in Australia every few months and he never told her when he was going. It was becoming to be a pain especially when she was never permitted to go with him.

"What's it to you? You aren't going anyway." He said annoyed with her rant.

He went to their walk in closet and pulled out to of his suitcases.

"I'm going" She said bluntly going into the closet and grabbed her two. "You aren't going anywhere." He said firmly. "I bet I do. Why do you hate me so? Why did you marry me in the first place if you don't ever want to do things with me?" She asked quietly.

He sighed and sat down on the floor. He hated these kind of nights when they did nothing but argue. Serena always ended up with her feelings hurt. "Come here." He commanded, his eyes softening slightly. He held his hand out to her and she took it.. He pulled her into his lap and held her. He heard her sniffle and felt her tears hit his shirt. She was crying.

"Look, I'm sorry I came home and took my anger out on you. I had a rough day, that's all." He said softly.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. "Can I come? I hate not being with you." She said meekly.

"If it makes you happy, I guess" He said giving in.


	2. Arrival

Note: I don't own any of the characters just the story. Hope you like the story, if not no bad reviews please

"Honey this place is amazing!" Serena said snapping pictures from their limo.

"Yeah if you say so." He said not looking. She sighed and sat back. "Neph, what happened to the man I married?" she asked sadly fiddling with her camera.. He sighed and took one of her hands.

"Look, I'm sorry. I've just been so busy with everything that I sometimes forget that I have such a sensitive, passionate wife." He said softly but honestly.

"It seems as though you've been forgetting me a lot "she pouted. "Look, I'll make it up to you. Today a friend of mine, Darien Chiba, is having a pool party. Why don't I take you shopping for a new bathing suit now?" He said trying to cheer her up.

"Okay!" She said excitedly.

Nephlite and Serena walked out onto the back patio of Darien's mansion. Many people were already there. The pool was larger than an Olympic size pool. The water was a beautiful crystal blue green. Refreshment tables were set up along with lounge chairs. Serena set her things down in one of the chairs. Nephlite handed her his things and stretched. She placed his things with hers.

"Come on. I'll introduce you to some of my friends." He said holding out his arm. She took it happily as he led her to some of his colleagues. One of the first two people she was introduced to was a tall brunette. She had light chestnut brown hair, tied up in a high ponytail with a sugar pink ribbon. Her eyes were a bright emerald green. She wore a sugar pink bikini with a sheer tie on sarong. She had a lean, athletic body. She was gorgeous. The man she was talking to was well built with gorgeous blonde hair. He had the clearest blue eyes and a charming grin. Nephlite smiled at them brightly.

"Hello Lita. Hi Andrew." He said kissing Lita's hand and shaking Andrew's. Andrew eyes roamed over Serena.

"Well, well, well, who's this lovely?" He asked flirtatiously. Serena blushed and hid slightly behind Nephlite.

"This is my wife, Serena" He said introducing her and stepping aside. She shook hand with Lita and Andrew kissed her hand. Andrew turned his attention to Nephlite.

"So man, have you spoken to Darien yet? He's been asking about you since the party started?" He said

"Nah. We just got here. Why don't you show me to him? Lita keep Serena company will you?" He asked. She smiled warmly and nodded. An emotion crossed Lita's face but Serena couldn't read it. She shook her head and smiled at Lita.

"So… Serena… it's nice to meet you. I hope you don't mind me asking but how long have you two been married?" She asked eyeing Serena. Serena smiled slightly.

"Well, it's nice to meet you too. I don't mind you asking. We've been married for two years." She said looking around at the guests there. "Why hasn't he mentioned you? I've been friends with him for years." She said softly. Serena looked at her in shock.

"Well we haven't been getting along so well. Things kind of changed when we got married. Um… excuse me. I need something to drink." She said becoming increasingly sad. She tried to smile but it faltered. Her stomach knotted up and she felt sick. Tears began to cloud her vision. Her heart wrenched in pain. She walked quickly away from Lita before she broke down in front of her. She went to the refreshment table and got some fruit punch. She went back to her chair where her things were and took off her tie on navy sarong. She went over to the pool and dangled her feet in. She tried to clear her head as the tears fell. She sat her cup down and got in. She went out to the middle of the pool and dunked her head under the not caring if her neatly tied hair got wet. At the time Nephlite and Darien were finishing their conversation.

"Well thanks for letting me know. I'm going over to talk to some other people." Nephlite said shaking Darien's hand. "No problem." Darien said cheerfully as Nephlite walked off.

He looked over all of his guest. He noticed an attractive blonde wiping her forehead. She was breathtaking. She wore a baby blue bikini outlined in navy blue. The top was halter style. Strands of her golden hair fell from its' bun. The main thing that caught his attention were her sad blue eyes. He decided to go comfort her. Serena looked up to see a tall, dark, and handsome climbing into the pool and coming her way. His hair was jet black. His tanned body was sculpted like a Greek god. His dark blue eyes that were beautiful were filled with concern. Her stomach came out of its knots and she became filled with butterflies.

"Hello." He said smiling a boyish grin at her, making her heart melt.

"Hi." She said weakly, looking up into his eyes. "I couldn't help but notice that you look sad and alone. Is there anything I can do?" He asked softly, his fingers aching to move the loose stands of wet gold away from her face.

"Yeah, make my husband love me." She muttered under her breath. "Excuse me? I didn't hear you." He said politely not believing what he heard.

"Oh, nothing. Really." She said blushing not believing she voiced her thoughts.

"Well miss, what's your name?" he asked. "Serena, what's yours." She asked.

"Well, Serena, I'm the host of the party. Darien Chiba. It's really nice meeting you." He said continuing to look into her eyes, hold out a hand.

"Same to you" She said holding out hers. He took her hand gently. She felt a spark and a shiver traveled down her spine. He tenderly kissed her hand, not breaking the intense stare. His lips stayed longer than necessary but she didn't complain. She felt like she was caught in a web. Suddenly he let go of her hand and smiled lightly. She blinked coming back to reality and smiled.

"Well. I see you've met my wife." Nephlite said coming towards them. Serena looked over her shoulder. Her husband's eyes full of some emotion she hadn't seen before. Jealousy? The look was gone from his eyes in seconds and he smiled.

"Yeah. She's a real beauty. Why didn't you tell me you had a wife.? I'm one of your friends outside of work and we own our business together." Darien said curiously.

"Uh… never came to mind." He said quickly. Darien watched the pained expression cross Serena. "Excuse me." She said weakly leaving the pool. Darien watched her leave the pool and go into his house.

"Aren't you going to go check on her?" Darien asked.. Nephlite shrugged.

"She'll be alright. She's just too sensitive." He said.

Darien couldn't believe his ears. Neph had hurt Serena badly and he was things up with his wife.


	3. Pampering

Note: I don't own any of the characters just the story. Hope you like the story, if not no bad reviews please. I'll try to update as much as I can. If you have any ideas for my story let me know.

Nephlite walked into his bedroom to see the most awful picture in the world. His wife balled up in the far corner of their bed crying. He felt guilty. It was his fault for neglecting her. She had left the party not telling him. He sat on the edge of the bed and reached a hand to her. She tried to scoot farther away from him till she bumped into the wall. All he heard was a hiccup and a sniffle.

"Rena, if it helps, I'm sorry." He said softly. "If it helps? Oh please! You failed to mention me to your friends. That makes me believe that you were seeing other women- like Lita. Even if we had children you'd probably fail to mention them too. What makes you hate me so?" She asked crying harder. He sat quietly for a few moments.

"I don't hate you and I don't have an excuse for not mentioning you to them." He said honestly.

"Fine. Just leave me. What you should have done two years ago." She said pulling a pillow over her head and pulling the covers to her chin. Nephlite knew she had dismissed him. 'I have to do something to make this right.' He thought

He sighed and got up. He left the bed room and went to the living room and lied on the sofa.

The sun beamed brightly into the bedroom. Serena sat up stiffly and stretched. Her bed side was empty but she felt numb towards Nephlite. Every time he says he's sorry, she wonders if he ever means it. Things between them have become worse by the day. She went to the bathroom and showered. When she got out, she wrapped a towel around her. She grabbed one for her hair. As she opened the door, Nephlite was standing there.

"Hi" He said gently.

"…"

"I know you're still mad at me but I wanna make it up to you." He said gently, taking one of her arms and pulling her to him. He picked her up and carried her to the kitchen.

"Close your eyes." He said softly.

She did so but said nothing. At the kitchen table, he pulled out a chair with his foot and sat her down.

"Open them" He demanded.

She opened her eyes and looked down. He had made her breakfast and a golden box laid next to the plate. She moves it to the side and just stared at it. She then to the top layer off the box and opened it to see a diamond bracelet. Nephlite picked the bracelet up and and put it on her wrist. Jewelry didn't excite her anymore. She was more into simpler things, like just the nice breakfast. She began to eat her breakfast quietly, still not speaking to him. As she ate he began to smooth her hair and braided it. He knew she use to love it when he tried to do her hair when they were first married, maybe it would make every thing a little less tense.

Thank you." She finally said.

"Anything for you" He responded. He still felt guilty. He had some shady business deals going on along with his good ones. He couldn't afford going around saying he had a wife. He closed his eyes and sighed. She continued to eat not paying him any attention.

"Um… I have a conference this morning and I won't be back till three. So I asked Darien if he'd take you to Sydney. It has a beautiful beach there. I'm sure you'll have fun." He said trying to lighten the mood.

"Can't you take me when you get home?" She asked quietly.

"Rena, well if you don't want to go you can just stay over his house till I come get you. I hate knowing you're here with out me" He said trying to convince her.

"Ha! Whatever… why can't I just stay here or come with you." She asked turning in her seat to look up at him.

"Serena, don't argue with me. I know you'll be safe over there. He has a built in movie theatre over there. He has a built in movie theater over there. You can watch movies or something." He said slightly annoyed.

"Fine" She said angrily slamming her fist down.

Sometimes he treated her like a Child. She got up and went to her bedroom to get dressed.


	4. The unexpected

Note: Thanks for the positive reviews, once again I'll try to update as much as possible. I don't own the characters just the story. Just as a side note: There will be flashbacks into Serena's and Nephlite's relationship in the further chapters.

Serena sat quietly in the living room of Darien's house. She was sitting on the sofa while he sat on the loveseat trying to work on some paper work. She felt comfortable but bored. There was nothing to do but brood over being upset with Nephlite leaving her there. She looked over the nicely furnished house. Everything in was in cream and some burgandy, a nice taste but definetly not a man's. Her eyes roamed over his profile. He sat there in a pair of khakis and a light blue polo shirt. He was breathtaking and his bangs fell over into his eyes as he was looking over his work. Every few minutes, he'd try to blow the strands up and away. Nephlite never did any of his work at home. He claimed he couldn't get anything done at home, she'd be bothering him constantly. So she simply sat there watching him not wanting to bother him, afraid he might get irritated with her. She sighed lightly and Darien eyes clashed with hers. She blushed lightly and looked away from him. Darien looked at her and smiled softly. 'She's so beautiful- Neph, doesn't realize what a treasure he has.' He thought.

"So, Serena what do you do as your career?" Darien asked sitting his papers down on the coffee table.

"I'm a house wife really. Nephlite won't let me work- it like he's afraid for me to leave the house or something. I have to keep a schedule for the whole week and everything. It's the same thing every week unless there's something that comes up. For a past time I like to paint and draw." She said fiddling with her hands.

"Do you paint potraits of people." He asked becoming very interested in the woman sitting across from him.

"Yes, I've painted a picture of my family and I did one of Nephlite. I might show you one day." She said proudly, her eyes lighting up.

Darien saw the happy twinkle in her eyes as she talked about what she liked. For some reason he wanted to keep that twinkle in her eye even if she wasn't his to claim.

"Hey, why don't we do something fun. I have an arcade down stairs in my basement. I have all of the old classic Sailor V games from when I was a teenager." He suggested standing up.

"Really! That's cool, let go." She said becoming excited. She got up and followed him down to the basement. There was a bar area, a pool room, the arcade and the movie room.

"So what do you want to do first?" He asked, "If you wanna watch a movie, we can watch one of those girly movies. I don't mind."

Serena looked at him suprised. Most men wouldn't want to watch a romance movie, especially not Neph. He was always more into the action movies. Every blue moon he'd watch one with her but he'd fall asleep.

"Can we watch the Notebook, if you have it. I've been wanting to see it but Nephlite hasn't been home to watch it so I just decided to wait before I saw it." She asked.

"Sure, believe it or not I kinda like sappy movies every once in a while. I bought the dvd but I haven't watched it yet." He confessed, " But you can't tell anyone my secret."

She laughed with him for a few moments. She felt young again and really Darien is the first guy that Nephlite trusted her with. Through highschool she dated only Nephlite and no one else. Straight out of high school they went to the same college and even graduated together. They got married and Nephlite took over his father's company.

They went into the movie room and Serena went to sit in the middle of the long sofa. Darien went and sat the movie up and went over to the refrigidrator he had in the room and pulled out a box of chocolate covered raisins. He grabbed the remote and headed back to sit with Serena.

"I hope you like chocolate covered raisin because I do." He said handing her the box.

"Yep! My favorite thing to get at the movies" She chirped looking up at him.

Darien pressed a button on his remote and the lights dimmed and he pressed another one for the movie to start. As the movie started, without realising it, she snuggled up to Darien. He looked down on her, suprised. She smelled wonderful like vanilla and strawberries. Her hair spilled over his arm like a blanket of silk. Gently he put his arm around her hoping she wouldn't move away from him. She stiffened slightly but then relaxed. Darien marveled over how smooth her skin felt and how perfect they fit together.

'Get a grip, stupid' He mind told him. He shook his head decided to just watch the movie.

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"Thanks for the great time."Serena said gratefully looking up at Darien.

"No problem, come back any time you like. My home is yours."Darien said smiling back at her.

Nephlite felt threaten by that statement for some reason. He took Serena's hand and she stared at him coldly for a moment but said nothing. Nephlite brushed the look off and turned his attention to Darien.

"Thanks for everything, man. Hey, tomorrow would you like to come over and play tennis." Nephlite invited.

"Sure. Is 1:00 fine?" Darien asked.

"Sure, see you then." Nephlite chirped.

They shook hands and Nephlite and Serena left. Once they were outside, Nephlite let go of her hand and draped his arm over her shoulder. The driver got out of the limo and opened the door for them. Once they were inside, Serena moved to the seat across from Nephlite. Once they took off, Nephlite couldn't take the silence anymore.

"So, how was your time?" He asked trying to start a conversation.

"Fine" She said shortly.

She relaxed into the seat but didn't look at him. She twirled a strand of her hair thinking about Darien's fingers running through her hair.

"Um... I was thinking, I bought the house we have here and I come here alot when I'm on business. Since this my first time bringing you here and you like, why don't we come here every few months. Like a vacation or something." He said hoping she'd like the idea.

"That'd be nice." She said lightly still thinking of Darien.

Nephlite was wondering why she wasn't getting excited as she usually did. Serena had told herself that she couldn't believe anything he said anymore. It'd only bring about more pain and hurt.

"Hey, I'm starving how about we get something to eat." he said.

"I'm not hungry, I already ate. I'll fix you something when we get home."

That idea went down the drain. There was no more conversation until they got to the house. When they got to the house Serena headed straight to the kitchen and began looking for something to cook.

"Hey Serena! You wanna watch a movie?" Nephlite called out to her.

She smirked to herself.

"It doesn't matter." She called back.

She knew Nephlite was trying his best to fix the relationship but she also knew he'd mess up again. She hated having to be on guard all the time. As she began taking out a pan, the phone rang.

"I'll get it" She called taking the phone off the charger. She wondered who it could be. Maybe her older sister Mina. She was the only one she gave the number to.

"Hello" She greeted place the pan on the island counter top.

"Hi, is this Serena?" came the feminine voice.

"Yes, May I ask who's calling?" She asked.

"It's Lita."


	5. Just friendly

Note: I don't own any of the characters just the story. Hope you like the story, if not no bad reviews please. I'll try to update as much as I can. If you have any ideas for my story let me know. Sorry I can't give out any hints to what may come because I'm not sure how I want to end it.

Serena rolled her eyes to the ceiling

"Neph! Telephone!" Serena called annoyed instantly.

"Wait! I called for you." Lita said quickly.

"Hey! Don't worry about it." Serena called out. Even though Serena told him not to come to the phone, Nephlite came to the kitchen anyway.

"Who is it" He mouthed. Serena turned her back to him to focus on the conversation.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked her.

"Well, yesterday I saw that you were slightly upset by my words. So I want to make it up to you." Lita said honestly.

"There's no way you can really, but you can come over about one o'clock. We can have tea or something. I don't have any friends out here so we can hang out." Serena suggested.

"Sure. I'd like that." Lita chirped.

"See you tomorrow." Serena said cracking two eggs and placing the in the frying pan to start an omelet.

"Bye." Lita said.

"Bye." Serena said hanging up the phone, placing it on the counter.

She went over to the stove and began to make the omelet. Once it was finished, she grabbed a plate and placed the omelet on it. Nephlite came up behind her and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Who was that?" He asked again.

"Lita." She said looking over the omelet.

"What did she want?"

"To hang out. That's all." She said picking up the pan and turning the stove off. She tried to break away from Nephlite's arms but he held her tighter. He gently kissed her cheek. He inhaled her scent as if he was trying to memorize everything about her.

"You smell a little differently- like roses or something." He murmured in her ear. She laughed weakly, remembering how close her and Darien were.

"Oh, yeah. Just trying something new." She lied smoothly.

"Oh… You don't know what you mean to me do you?" He whispered in her ear.

She sat the pan down and closed her eyes relaxing in his embrace. She felt her defense system crumble slightly. His rich voice always did something to her. Was wanting some one to love and hold her every once in a while wrong? She wish Nephlite acted like this all the time. She knew it wouldn't last. He was her husband but it didn't feel right Being held by Darien felt right, and she knew it was wrong. She tried to turn her thoughts off. She turned around in his embrace and looked up at him. His eyes averted hers, slightly.

"What do I mean to you." She whispered back.

"Words couldn't describe." He stated simply. Serena gently grabbed his chin to get his attention.

"Neph." She said looking into his eyes.

"Yes?"

"Hold me." She said softly.

And he did just that.

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Darien couldn't stop thinking about her. She was this glorious creature that's trapped and he wanted to free her. He remembered how her beautiful eyes lit up when she talked and laughed. He loved her laughter, he couldn't remember ever loving the way his previous girlfriends laughter, especially Emerald. She had a high pitched laugh that got on his nerves. Oh and Beryl's sounded so evil that it haunted him. He was glad to be single at the moment but when he met Serena the previous day- he wished differently. The only problem was, he wanted her. He knew that could never happen simply because she's a married woman. She'd be loyal to her husband plus he was Nephlite best friend and business partner. Darien snapped out of his thoughts as he pulled into the drive way of the house where Serena and Nephlite was staying at. He turned the car off and climbed out. He headed up the stairs to the front door and rang the door bell. Within seconds the door opened. Serena stood there smiling.

"Hello Darien." She said softly.

How he loved the way his name sounded when it came from her lips. Her voice was enchanting. 'What is going on in there?' he thought to himself wondering why he was flipping out over everything she did or said.

"Hey." He said looking over her attire.

She was gorgeous. She wore a simple but elegant white halter dress that swayed at her knees. It was made of pure satin and hugged at the right curves. She opened the door wider for him to step through. He came in and waited for her to show him to Nephlite.

Serena locked the door and led him toward the back of the house.

"You look very beautiful today. So what's the occasion?" He asked.

She blushed slightly.

"Thank you. Nephlite took me to a nice restaurant for breakfast this morning. By the time we came home, I didn't have time to change. I had some house work to do." She explained.

As they headed towards the sliding glass doors which led to the tennis courts and pool area, Nephlite was entering.

"Hey Darien, you're on time." Nephlite greeted his friend with a hand shake.

"Yep. You ready to start?" He asked.

"Yeah, I was just coming to see if you were here yet." Nephlite said going back outside. Darien followed him in suit only looking back to wink at Serena.

"See you later" He said softly.

Serena watched them go out shutting the sliding door. Her heart beat had sped up at his words to her. They didn't mean anything but why was she feeling differently. Darien was this stunning man that was so sweet and caring- she definitely had to stop thinking about him. It was right. She sighed and headed back to the kitchen. She set up the tea tray and headed out to the poolside where she and Lita would be sitting at. Nephlite had set the patio furniture up for her and Lita earlier that morning with the umbrella so they could be comfortable. It was also set up to they could watch him and Darien play. As she set the tray down , the door bell rang. She quickly went to the door. She opened it to see Lita standing there in an olive green business suit. It was the jack with a cream colored top under it with a short olive green skirt. The skirt was just long enough to be modest. To finish the out fit off, she wore cream pumps. Her curly hair framed around her and her long super model legs intimidated Serena slightly. If she and Nephlite weren't married she'd be afraid Nephlite would leave her for Lita. He always had a thing for brunettes. He use to try to get her to dye her hair. Lita carried a wicker basket in one hand and smiled brightly at Serena

"Hey Serena. I thought I'd bring a few goodies." She said smiling.

"Thanks. Come on in." She said leading the way to the back yard. Once they were there, Lita began sitting out the treats while Serena fixed the two cups of tea.

"So how do you like Australia? Lita asked.

"Oh it's really nice. I'd like to come more often." She said lightly

Lita placed a brownie on a napkin for Serena to try.

"Thanks." She said taking the brownie from her.

"No, thank you for inviting me to your lovely house." Lita said sweetly.

Serena took a bite of the brownie and watched the guys play.

"Hey, this is really good." Serena said with a mouthful of brownie. Lita laughed lightly.

"Thanks, I made them myself. I also made a cheesecake and some chocolate chip cookies. I love to bake. I get carried away sometimes.

Serena laughed lightly. Lita was a sweet person, maybe she shouldn't judge her so quickly.

"You're lucky to have such a wonderful husband like Nephlite." Lita said sipping her tea- changing the subject.

Serena didn't respond. She just placed her brownie down and looked up at Lita. Lita had a faraway look in her eyes. Lita glanced at Serena's stricken expression and blushed.

"Sorry again." She said quickly.

"It's okay really. I just have a question for you. How long have you known Nephlite?" She asked.

"Oh for a long time really. Since he's been part owner with Darien over their companies together. I'd say about four years." Lita said.

A knife stabbed at Serena's heart. 'Why haven't I seen her before?' Serena thought.

"And you say he has never mentioned me at all?" Serena asked.

"Sorry he hasn't. I'm sorry if this causes you pain. I mean- I guess about the time he married you, I saw less of him but whenever I saw him again he never mentioned being married." She said quietly trying to remember.

Serena felt her spark of hope fade again.

"Um… Will you help me fix the guys something to drink. I'm sure they need a water break by now." Serena said changing the subject

"Alright." Lita said standing up.

Serena got up and they headed to the kitchen Lita tried to make small talk to cover up the uncomfortable silence. She felt guilty for telling Serena about Nephlite. She was just glad she remembered not to mention that she and Nephlite use to date or that would've added more problems. She really didn't want to hurt Serena.

They carried the glasses outside and sat them on the table.

"Neph! Darien! Water break." Lita called out. Serena noticed that Lita used the nickname she always called Nephlite. She tried to ignore it though.

The guys dropped their rackets and jogged over to the table. Nephlite noticed Lita and her voice and smiled.

"Hey Lita… Hey honey." He said smiling at Lita not really noticing his wife.

Darien picked us his glass of water and finished it in seconds.

"Thanks for the water."

"I'll fix you some more." Serena said taking his glass, their fingers brushing each others.

Serena was glad to have some company besides it just being her and Nephlite. She hurried to the kitchen and poured Darien some more water. As she headed back outside, she felt herself freeze up and her heart drop. She stared straight ahead at the scene in front of her. Of course it was innocent but it still hurt and she felt jealous. Lita stood awfully close to Nephlite, feeding him one of her brownies. He nipped at her fingers lightly laughing. They seemed not to notice that Darien was standing there. They were in their own little world. Serena felt the glass slip from her fingers and fall to the ground. She watched the water splash everywhere along with the shards of glass. It felt like her heart shattered right along with the glass at her feet. Lita stepped away from Nephlite feeling guilty. Nephlite simply chewed. His expression showing nothing. Darien frowned at him and went to Serena. He began helping Serena pick up the pieces of glass. Unconsciously, Serena closed her hand on the pieces of glass that were in her hand. She felt barely felt the pain at all as blood seeped through her fingers. Darien quickly dropped the piece of glass he was holding to help her up. He held her hand out to keep blood from getting on her dress.

" Come on, I'll help you get cleaned up." He said softly to her.

"I'll get the rest of the glass up." Nephlite said.

"I'll clean up our stuff." Lita said to no one in general.

At the time, Darien was carefully picking the shards of glass out of Serena's hand. Tears spilled down Serena's face. 'Today was ruined. Maybe I'm losing my mind' She thought Darien tried his best to calm her down.

"What's wrong?" He asked her gently already knowing the answer.

" Everything. My problems, insecurity, my jealousy, Nephlite." She murmured feeling very ashamed, She felt her self blush at her confessions.

"It's not just that. I don't appreciate him flirting with Lita so openly like that. Maybe it was a mistake to have her over." She said.

Darien quietly finished taking the shards of glass out of her hand. Once the last piece was out her ran her hand under some warm water.

"Thank you for helping." She said wiping the tears away with her free hand.

"Anything for you." He whispered. He brought the center of her palm to lips and kissed it gently. She looked up into his eyes. She felt the pain in her hand and heart fade. She felt like she was drowning in his eyes.

" I got up the rest of the glass." Nephlite announced.

Darien gently dropped her hand and it broke the trance. They both looked in his direction. Nephlite was dumping the glass in the trash. Serena moved from Darien's side to the island in the center of the kitchen. She grabbed a paper towel and began to wrap her hand. Nephlite moved to go wrap his arms around her.

"What happened out there sweetheart? You just cracked for no reason out there?" He asked sweetly.

"Yeah, I cracked for no reason." She spat sarcastically.

He let her go and turned her around.

"What's the matter with you? " He asked getting annoyed.

"What's the matter with you? Don't tell me that what happened out there was innocent. Don't ever let me see another woman feed you anything and you act like you enjoy it!" She yelled storming off.

Nephlite sighed and looked at Darien

"Sorry you had to see that." He said.

"Maybe I should go. You ought to go see about your wife." Darien said quietly.

Before Nephlite could reply, Lita came inside with the tea tray.

"Where's Serena?" She asked

Nephlite shrugged not saying anything.

"Sorry again for any problems I caused. I should be going. You guys can keep the desserts." Lita said sitting everything on the island.

"I'll walk you out. I'm leaving too." Darien said.

Darien led Lita out of the house. Nephlite waited until he heard the front door open and close. He sighed and went to find Serena.

"Serena!" He called out.

"Go away!" He heard her muffled voice.

She was in their bedroom. He rushed up the stairs to their room. The door was locked.

"Please open the door." He said softly.

"No" She yelled.

He always lost his patience with her quick.

"Serena what is the problem? Lita is an old friend! She use to bake me things all the time and feed them to me. It was innocent. Stop throwing a fit like a child and grow up." He yelled angrily.

Serena snatched the door open and stared at him furiously. She slapped him. He was totally not expecting it. He grabbed her shoulders roughly.

"Don't ever hit me again." He said darkly, his voice booming.

"Don't ever tell me what to do." She said with just as much venom, snatching away from him. She ran out of the house slamming the door.


	6. Secrets

Note: I don't own any of the characters just the story. Hope you like the story, if not no bad reviews please. I'll try to update as much as I can. If you have any ideas for my story let me know. Sorry I can't give out any hints to what may come because I'm not sure how I want to end it.

Serena walked back up the driveway to see that Nephlite's car was gone. She sighed and walked into the house. Everything was dark inside and outside.

"Nephlite!" She called out just incase he was there.

She received no answer. She sat on the sofa in complete darkness thinking. A thought clicked in her head. If Nephlite never mentioned her or she was never taken anywhere with him, then he had room to cheat on her and she was never able to find out. She jumped up and headed to his office. She decided to leave the overhead light off and turned on the lamp away from the window. Everything in his office was neat and crisp. Nothing was out of place. She opened a drawer on the desk to so see a gun and a silencer. The sight of it scared her. She never knew he owned a gun. Under it was a file among other papers. She picked up the heavy piece of metal and sat it on top of the desk. She didn't know what she was going to find. She picked up the file and went through the papers and found nothing.. Placed everything back like she found it and began searching the other drawers. She found absolutely nothing. She went to one of the closets and opened it. A small metal suitcase was on the top shelf. Something told her not to open it but her curiosity got the best of her. She opened it to find it filled with diamonds. Hundreds of them. She gasped at the sight and nervously closed the case back. She quickly put the suitcase in it's rightful spot and closed the closet. What was Nephlite doing with a case full of diamonds? She hurried out and went to her bedroom. She closed the door and began to pace. First, she had to deal with her thoughts of Nephlite cheating and now the diamond-filled suitcase. She knew she couldn't ask him about it- she had to keep it to herself. She went to her drawer and pulled out a night gown. She slipped out of her clothes and into the nightgown.

"Maybe sleep will help" She muttered out loud. She quickly climbed into bed and closed her eyes tightly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"81…82…83…84…" Darien counted mentally as he did some push ups. When ever anything bothered him he started doing push ups. The conversation he had with Lita earlier still bothered him.

Flashback

Darien closed the door after Lita and himself. Lita huffed as she walked down the stairs.

"Nephlite deserves better." She said angrily, "That girl doesn't know how to handle a man like that."

Darien stopped in his tracks and looked at her.

"What's gotten into Lita? Don't talk about Serena like that. As you can tell they are having a few problems and the last thing she needs is to feel insecure especially around you. You should respect that Nephlite is married." Darien said coldly walking up to Lita.

She merely rolled her eyes at him and laughed. Her eyes glittering with amusement.

"Darien you know good and well you're falling for her already. What- it hasn't been that many days and she already has her hooks into you. Plus! I saw how you ran to her aid today, trying to play the caring friend. I think you should be practicing what you preach about respect. Either way it goes Nephlite was and is always mine." She said with just as much venom.

She whipped around and stormed to her car.

End of flashback

As Darien continued to replay the conversation from earlier his door bell rang. He pushed himself up one last time and grabbed his towel from off of the floor and went to the door. He opened it to see Nephlite standing there.

"Hey man" Darien greeted very surprised to see him there. He opened the door a little wider so Nephlite could step through. Nephlite said a quick hello and came in. Darien noticed the look on his face. He shut the door and locked it.

"Alright, what's the matter?" Darien asked

Nephlite frowned slightly.

"Well it's a lot actually. First, Serena is still mad at me. I can handle that. The main thing is, you know that deal I was working on. Well it has to be finished in three days or they said they'd harm Serena. How they found out about Serena? Who knows. I knew it was a bad idea to bring her here. Either way in exchange for their company they want 5 million dollars worth of diamonds. I have the diamonds it's just that I wasn't thinking clearly when I made the deal. That company is not worth that much. I tried to get out of it but I can't back out of it. Really, they get the better deal." Nephlite said very frustrated- pacing up and down the foyer.

Darien was silent for a moment. He ran a hand through his thick hair.

"I thought you had this whole thing under control. At least that's what you told me so I let you handle this project on your own. I wish you had discussed this with me in the beginning. I do agree with you about the company not being worth that many diamonds, but how did Serena come into this?" Darien asked crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"Well… you see… they said that if I went back on the deal that they'd come after my immediate family. I was careful about things dealing with my marriage. I didn't think that they'd still want to go through with the deal after a year. I was so stupid. I didn't know what I was thinking." He said slamming his fist into his hand.

Darien simply stared after him. Nephlite definitely made a wrong move. It was beyond stupid. Now his marriage was in jeopardy. He felt sorry for Serena for having to put up with Nephlite.

"I don't know how to help you. All I can say is that you need to fix this." Darien said leaning against the wall.

"Well I need you and some of the guys to help protect Serena for me. I going to finish the deal tomorrow. I had a high tech security system installed and I want to go over some stuff with you. I've already talked to Michael, Jackson, and Zack. They know what's going down and they agreed to help, but you're the main one I trust with this. Can you help." He asked.

Darien knew he'd hate it if anything ever happened to Serena and he could've prevented it.

"Alright. I'll come first thing in the morning." He said.

"No! I need you to come tonight. I know it's late and all but just pack a few clothes and stuff. They guys are on their way to my house now." He said quickly.

Darien simply nodded. He never had to deal with anything like this before. He just prayed that Nephlite knew what he was doing.

"You mind if I bring a gun or two?" He asked

"No. Not at all."

Darien hurried to his room to pack.


	7. Unexpected visitors

Note: I don't own any of the characters just the story. Hope you like the story, if not no bad reviews please. I'll try to update as much as I can. If you have any ideas for my story let me know. Serena starts to gain a back bone and becomes a little bolder so don't be surprised (that's also for the chapters ahead)

The doorbell rang for the third time now. Serena sat up in bed quickly and got out.

"I hope it's not Nephlite.' She thought to herself, heading down the stairs. She hurried to the front door and yanked it open. She was beyond furious at this point and Nephlite for leaving his key. She was about to yell until she saw three men standing there. One with platinum blonde hair and gray eyes stood in front of the two other guys.

"May I help you?" She asked curiously.

"Hello, you must be Mrs. Brights. I'm Michael Crane, one of Nephlite's friends. May we come in?" He asked politely.

"Uh…sure." She said hesitantly.

She opened the door wider for them to step through. The other two guys were blondes. One had short curly hair and the other had long wavy hair in a ponytail. All three were extremely handsome. She led them to the living room. Once they were all seated she noticed that they were carrying bags but didn't say anything.

"Can I offer you guys anything to drink?" She asked.

"Sure, anything you have will be fine." Michael spoke up for everyone.

"Oh, before I forget, what are your names?" She asked the other two guys.

"Jackson Brady." The short haired one said.

"And I'm Zack Marshall. Sorry for being so rude." He said politely.

His thin frame and long hair could have him mistaken for a woman from behind. As Serena walked out of the living room to the kitchen, Jackson's green eyes followed her. He gave a whistle low enough where Serena couldn't hear him.

"She sure is sexy in that black." He whispered to Michael grinning.

Michael rolled his eyes and hit Jackson in the arm.

"Shut up. You shouldn't be talking like that." He said sternly.

Jackson merely laughed and sat back waiting for Serena's return. When she came back she carried a tray of sodas and the basket of goodies on her arm. She sat the refreshments down on the coffee table in front of them.

"Enjoy." She said lightly.

"Thank you" Zack said gratefully.

She took a seat in an armchair away from them.

"You have a lovely home. So, where's the kids?" Jackson asked looking for any other signs of life in the house.

Pain crossed Serena's features for the hundredth time that day.

"We don't have any." She said quietly.

Michael saw how hurt she looked.

"You can't have any?" He asked softly.

"I can but Neph doesn't want any or least not right now." She said bitterly.

They sat there in silence for awhile until the door bell rang again. She excused herself and went to the door. She opened it to see her husband standing there. She yanked him in not noticing Darien behind him.

"Who are these people? You know good and well I hate it when you spring new visitors on me without warning." She whispered furiously.

Darien closed the door quietly. Serena looked around Nephlite to see Darien standing there.

"Hi" He said softly.

"Hi" she said meekly.

Nephlite paid no attention to his wife's rant. Only her sexy attire. She stood there in a short, black silk night gown that same up past mid thigh. It had split on both side that were as modest as it could be. Her hair was in a messy bun that was sloppy and cute at the same time.

"What do you have on?" He asked bewildered.

"A nightgown." She said simply.

"Go put some clothes on." He said frowning.

She simply stared at him.

"I thought I told you earlier not to tell me what to do." She snapped.

Darien knew another argument was coming on to so he coughed. Nephlite sighed.

"Please be reasonable. Can I get you a robe or something?" He asked

"I don't want one." She said and headed back to the living room.

Nephlite and Darien followed her back into the living room. Nephlite noticed that everyone was already there. They looked up at Nephlite.

"I'm glad you guys could make it. Shall we get down to business. Afterwards I'll show you to your rooms." Nephlite said taking a seat.

Serena looked at him confused.

"Rooms?" She asked

"Yes, Rooms." He said calmly rolling his hazel eyes to the ceiling.

"What's going on here?" She asked looking at all of them suspiciously.

"There's no time to explain. Darien will tell you tomorrow." He said

She glared at him angrily.

"What do you mean Darien? You're my husband and you should explain things to me what's going on." She said coldly.

"Serena, I don't have time for this." He snapped closing his eyes, trying to calm himself. He could feel his anger from earlier rising again.

"You mean you don't have time for me." She said gathering herself.

She stormed off up the stairs and Nephlite shrugged.

"Never mind. Darien, I have specific instructions for you." He said turning his attention to Darien and the guys.

Darien nodded but his mind was only on the beauty that stormed up the stairs.


	8. In the arms of the enemy

Note: I don't own any of the characters just the story. Hope you like the story, if not no bad reviews please. I'll try to update as much as I can. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to keep writing. This story is almost complete on my half- just a matter of time before I try to post all of it. This story is very old and I just now felt like finishing it up.

Serena felt something drape over her. She quickly opened her eyes to only see darkness. She reached towards her waist to feel an arm. She turned over to see the outline of Nephlite. She sat up and looked over him towards the clock. It was 2:36 am. She laid back down and stared into the darkness. If she had been awake when he came in she would've made him sleep downstairs on the couch. In his sleep, Nephlite cuddle up against her and she stiffened slightly. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep for awhile. Why did things have to be so bad between them? She was giving up hope of their relationship turning around. She knew she had lost her grip on the relationship. As she closed her eyes trying to go to sleep, she heard him mumble in his sleep. She listened closely to the next word that came out of his mouth.

"Lita" he murmured grabbing Serena.

She froze. Slowly everything around her fell. Hot tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall. This was not what she was hearing. She removed his arm roughly and got up. She left their bedroom and headed down the stairs. She headed into the kitchen blindly. She crashed into someone and looked up to see Darien.

"Sorry if I woke you up." He said softly.

"You didn't" She sniffled.

Darien didn't have a good feeling about her tears. Without thinking, he took her in his arms and just held her. She didn't refuse his gestures of comfort. She broke down crying. Darien felt his heart breaking right along with hers. All he knew was her marriage was in shambles because of Nephlite. He didn't ask any questions, he just held her and whispered words of encouragement. About fifteen minutes of just stroking her hair and holding her, he felt her go limp against him. He looked down to see that she fell asleep on her feet. He scooped her up and looked down on her. She was so beautiful, especially when she was asleep. She looked serene with only a few traces of sadness and tears. He gently kissed her cheek tasting a trail of tears that was fading. He sighed and headed up the stairs in search for the master bedroom. He saw a room with the door half way opened and figured it was hers. He walked into the darkness and saw Nephlite asleep.

"Nephlite." He whispered

Nephlite stirred but didn't get up. He whispered his name a little louder and he woke up drowsily. Nephlite noticed Darien holding some girl. He quickly looked to his bedside to see his wife's spot empty. He quickly climbed out of bed.

"What's going on? What happened?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. She ran into me crying a little while ago and cried herself to sleep." He explained softly.

Nephlite took Serena out of Darien's arms and looked down on her, looking for any traces of where Darien may have tried to take advantage of her. Not like his best friend would or anything.

"Did she say why she was crying?"

"No. Maybe you should know." Darien said finding himself becoming angry.

"I didn't do anything. I'll ask her in the morning. Thanks man." Nephlite said staring Darien straight in the eyes.

"No problem." He said leaving.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Serena woke up to find herself in Nephlite's arms- again. She suddenly remembered last night and the tenderness Darien showed. She glanced at the clock and it read 6:50am. She slowly climbed out of bed and headed towards the hall that held the guest bedrooms. Out of the rooms she knew four would hold the guys and just decided to peek into all of the rooms til she found the right one. When she found his, she saw that he was awake. He was pulling a navy blue shirt over head. She was ashamed when she caught herself marveling at the sight of his chest and washboard abs. She quickly and quietly closed the door and knocked on it slightly.

"Come in" came his voice.

She opened the door and walked in. He smiled at her softy. His heart was beating wildly at the sight of her.

"Good Morning." He said

"Good Morning to you too. I just came to tell you thank you for last night." She said softly.

"You're welcome. It was no problem. I'll always be here for you." He replied.

"Thanks. I appreciate that." She said quietly.

They stood there for a moment in a comfortable silence. Darien was thinking about how every time he saw her she was more beautiful than the time before- if that's possible. She was still wearing the black night gown from the night before and he couldn't help but let his eyes roam over her beautiful figure.

'No wonder Neph wanted to keep her covered.' He thought. He shook his head slightly and focused back on her face.

"Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we get some breakfast while everyone is asleep. It'll be awhile before you can leave the grounds again." Darien suggested.

"I'd love to go out to breakfast but what do you mean it'll be a while before I can go out again." She asked.

Darien sighed.

"I'll explain over breakfast. Why don't you meet me downstairs in about twenty minutes." He said.

"Okay." She said leaving to go get dressed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nephlite rolled over and reached out for Serena. He only grabbed at the thin air. He opened his eyes to see her spot empty. He got up and headed for their bathroom. He opened it to see no one. He left their bedroom in search of her. He headed downstairs and still didn't see her and headed back upstairs, towards the guest hall. He passed all the guys rooms except Darien's because his door was open. Darien was gone too. He frowned and slowly headed slowly back down the stairs to the kitchen. He headed for the cordless phone. An idea popped into his mind. 'Darien's become too friendly with Serena. I need someone to keep an eye on him.' He thought. He dialed a number. The phone rang a few times.

"Hello?" Came a voice

"Hey Mina, this is your brother in law. Can you do me a favor?" He asked in a smooth voice.

"What is it?" She asked curiously considering her brother in law never contacted her.

"Well, I'm in Australia and I was wondering if you could call in for and come help Serena and I out for a while." He said.

"Uh… sure. I'll do anything." She said becoming worried for her sister.

"Good. Pack some of your things and go directly to the airport today about 1:00. I'll have my jet there and ready for you. I'll also have a letter explaining everything." He said.

"It must be an emergency." She said seriously.

"Yes it is. Thanks for agreeing to help out. Oh and I'll pay you double what you're missing at work." He said smiling to himself.

"Okay, I need to go get ready. Bye Neph" She said

"Bye Mimi." He said hanging up.

'Now, that's better. Every area is protected.' He thought smugly.

Darien had become so protective of Serena in just these few days, he could only wonder at times, especially last night. How is it that last night Serena just ran into Darien's arms? He wasn't going to wonder on that. Darien was his best friend and could be trusted, but just in case, he wanted everything was covered.

He headed to the coffee maker to start up some coffee. As he began grinding the coffee beans, he heard the front door open. He could hear Darien and Serena's laughter. He headed to the living room to meet them. Their laughter died down after seeing him.

"Where have you two been?" He asked casually.

"Out to breakfast," Darien said feeling the tension build up, "Might as well since the house will be locked up."

Nephlite nodded and shrugged casually.

"Just wondering."

Serena stared coldly at him and began to walk out of the room.

"Honey wait!" Nephlite called.

She stopped in her tracks but didn't turn around.

"What?" She asked calmly.

"What was wrong with you last night?" He asked.

"Why should it matter to you anyway? It seems as though you don't care anything about me." She snapped, storming out.

"That's not true." He yelled after her.

She didn't reply. He sighed heavily and looked over at Darien. Darien only gave him a look of pity.

"Did she say what was wrong?"

Darien merely shook his head.

"Well, come on. I wanna show you the surveillance room. It'll show you all of the grounds and bedrooms except bathrooms. There's also earpieces for you and the guys to communicate with." Nephlite said switching the subject getting right down to business.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Darien asked noticing how fast Nephlite forgot about Serena's little outburst.

"Oh, well Serena's sister, Mina, will be coming for a visit. She should be arriving late tonight or early morning." He said nonchalantly.

Darien nodded and followed Nephlite upstairs to the office.

"Alright, but won't she be in danger if she's here?" Darien asked.

"Maybe but I just want Serena to be comfortable with all of you males around her." He said smoothly.

Darien sighed and just followed Nephlite so he could learn the ropes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nephlite sat his bags in the fortress and headed back to the living room to see his wife.

"Serena" He said softly.

She looked up at him in response.

"I must go now." He said

Serena didn't know what to do or what to say. Something about his words seemed final. He walked over to the couch and leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. The first time since she could remember. She found herself feeling sad and upset about everything.

"I love you." She blurted out not believing her ears.

He seemed surprised and choked up. He couldn't find his voice for anything in the world. He touched her cheek slightly and walked out. For some reason she knew he wasn't going to repeat those words. She hadn't heard them in months. Her heart felt like it had been stabbed. She heard the front door open and close. She closed her eyes tightly determined not to cry anymore. It wasn't going to help the situation.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She heard a voice say.

She opened her eyes to see Darien. She simply patted the spot on the sofa beside her. He sat down next to her quietly.

"I don't know if I really should be telling you this but I know I've lost Nephlite for good. He's merely protecting me now because he feels obligated to. Plus some how he got me involved in this mess…. I just know that he doesn't love me anymore. We've just been together for so long…. Maybe all those old feelings are just gone. I guess they could fade after so many years. Did you know that we were each other's high school sweetheart? Well we were. We went to different colleges but we kept a steady relationship going the best we could, considering we were two states apart. When he asked me to marry him after college, I thought we'd be together forever. I guess not." She said with a far away look in her eyes.

She was taking that trip down memory lane as she did every once in a while. She closed her eyes and sighed. Darien simply listened to her not knowing what to say really. He just felt really sad for her.

"How do you know he doesn't love you anymore?"

"Well I told him I loved him and he didn't say anything. He just left. Plus, he calls out for Lita in his sleep." She said, her voice starting to shake.

She felt her heart lurch and she felt tears falling. Darien knew there was nothing he could do to stop her pain. He put an arm around her and she leaned into him and cried silently.

He stroked her hair, running his fingers through the silk, as he did the night before. He wished she was in his arms for another reason instead of crying her eyes out. When her tears subdued, she pulled away from him slightly and smiled weakly.

"Thanks." She said quietly.

"Any time." He said smiling slightly.

She leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth. She got up and left the room. Darien watched her leave. Once she was gone he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He like Serena from the moment he saw her, for him it was like love a first sight. Unfortunately, She's married. He had to be careful or he knew he'd end up falling in love with her. That couldn't happen. He'd hate to be another reason why Nephlite and her broke up. It also might do something to the friendship he and Neph had built over the years. Not only their friendship but the business partnership. He shook his head of all thoughts and got up to start his work.


	9. Sizing Up

Note: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been really busy. As always, I own the story not the characters.

Mina searched the airport for the man she was suppose to meet. 'Platinum blonde hair and grey eyes' she thought over and over again, her eyes scheming over the many people. A tap came at her shoulder. Startled, she turned around to be faced with the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen.  
"Hello. Are you Miss Mina Claire?" He asked.  
She smiled at his rich, low voice.  
"Yes I am. Who might you be?" She asked already knowing the answer.  
"Michael Crane." He answered smoothly.  
"Nice to meet you." She said holding out a hand. He took her hand and kissed it softly.  
"Likewise. Shall we get your luggage and go"  
"Sure, I'm ready." Mina said smiling as he gently dropped her hand.

Later.  
As they pulled up to the house, Mina looked over at the digital clock that read 3:00am. Even if it was dark outside and a few lights were on inside of the house, Mina doubted that anyone was asleep. As they got out, Michael grabbed Mina's bags quickly and led her to the house. Mina eyed Michael quietly. The man was totally silent the whole trip to the house like he was afraid to speak to her or something. He took out a key and unlocked the door letting her enter first. He locked the door behind them. The house was gorgeous. She knew her brother in law had money but not this kind. She knew she'd love to be the owner of this house and would love to be in her sister's shoes. They had the perfect marriage- or it seemed to her. She came out of her thoughts as Michael brushed passed her with her bags.  
"Oh, thanks Michael for picking me up" She said politely.  
"No problem, I'll take you to your room." He said smiling back at her softly.  
As she eyed the interior design of the house, she found her eyes roaming Michael's backside.  
"So Michael, do you have a girlfriend or a wife?" She asked innocently.  
He glanced back at her with a smirk.  
'Is she trying to hit on me' He thought "No. I don't." He said "Oh" She chirped.  
That sounded pretty happy and Michael just shook his head.  
'Good. Maybe I can get to know him better.' She thought with a sly smile.  
Once they were in her room, he place the suitcases down and turned to her.  
"Thank you again. You're such a sweety. So can you please take me to see my sister now?" She asked him sweetly.  
He simply nodded and headed out of the room leading the way. He led her down to the swimming pool area. She saw her sister sitting in the jacuzzi.  
"Rena!" She squealed running pass Michael.  
"Mimi!"Serena squealed jumping out of the jacuzzi.  
They hugged each other tightly in spite of the fact Serena was soaking wet.  
"I so happy to see you." Serena said releasing her sister.  
"Same here." Mina said cheesing.  
Mina turned around to watch Michael leave.  
"See ya cutie pie!" She called after him.  
Serena laughed at her sister's comment.  
"Mimi" She exclaimed.  
"What? He is a cutie! He'll be mine before I leave." She said with a determined look on her face.  
"I see you're still a big flirt with no shame."Serena said rolling her eyes.  
Mina smiled and shrugged.  
"I need a man. Anyways, where is all these guys that are suppose to be here?" She asked looking around at the closed off property.  
"At their posts. You'll see them in the morning." Serena said leading the way back to the jacuzzi.  
"So, where's the head of this operation?" Mina asked lightly, know she had to get started on watching Darien since that was the reason for her being here.  
"He's in the servalence room." She said climbing back in to relax.  
Mina took off her flip flops and put her feet in.  
"So when when do I get to meet the man in charge"  
"Right now." came a deep, sexy voice.  
Mina felt chills run down her spine at the sound of his voice. She turned around to see a beautiful man with deep blue eyes and messy black hair. She thought she was seeing stars. She didn't know who was cuter Michael or Darien.  
"I'm Darien Chiba. You must be the beautiful Mina Claire." He said holding a hand . She took his hand gracefully as though she was in a daze. Serena held back a giggle at her sister's reaction to seeing Darien. Her sister was just man crazy.  
"Ooooh... Nice to meet you Darien" She said throwing him a sexy smile.  
Poor Michael or Darien had it coming.  
"Likewise. Anyway, Mike told me that you were here safe and sound so I had to see for myself." he replied letting her hand go.  
Mina looked Darien over again for the thousanth time since she layed eyes on him. No wonder Nephlite wanted her to keep an eye on him. He was breathtaking and if he was interested in her sister Nephlite doesn't have a chance at keeping Serena.  
"Well it's getting late ladies. We should all go in." Darien said.  
"You're right." Serena said reluctantly hating that her and her sister couldn't stay out in the warm night much longer.  
She grabbed her towel and put an arm around Mina.  
"We have so much to talk about." Serena said wistfully.  
Mina looked at her sister, and the dazed look on her face. Something was wrong and she knew that this might not be one of their happier reunions. They walked back into the house and Darien locked the sliding door.

That's it for this chapter. Sorry it's kinda short but there's more to come. I tried to make this chapter a little lighter than all that serious stuff. Please review


	10. Temptation to the Tenth Degree

Note: Thanks for the positive reviews, once again I'll try to update as much as possible. I don't own the characters just the story.

Serena walked into the servalance room with a cup of coffee. A week had passed and everyone was still on edge. There hasn't been a word from Nephlite. Darien was watching all of the t.v. monitors. He looked tired and worn. She watched him for a few moments just thinking of how grateful she was to have him there to protect her. His eyes were focused with a determined look. His messy hair was just adorable. How her finger ached to run her fingers through it. She sighed softly and walked up behind him.

"Hey" She said softly not to startle him.

He turned his chair slightly and looked up at her with a smile.

"Hi. What are you still doing up?" He asked.

"Couldn't sleep. I thought that maybe you'd like some coffee." She said holding the cup out.

"Thanks" He said taking it from her.

He took a sip of it and sat back. He closed his eyes for a moment to just relax. Serena looked at all of the screens for a moment. Each monitor, monitored a different room. Even hers. The thought of a camera watching her every move made her wonder if Darien ever watched her change or anything.

"Uh... is there a possible way to readjust the cameras to face the windows?" She asked.

"Sure, but if you look closely the cameras are already facing the windows it's just catches anything in view." He murmured.

He leaned forward for a moment to take a sip of coffee and peeked an eye open.

"You should really try to get some rest." He said

"Not until you go to bed." She said

He sighed and closed his eye.

"I can't. I have to make sure you're safe." He said.

She said nothing and turned his chair back to the monitors. She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to massage him. He relaxed immediately to her touch. Oh how he wished she was his to claim. From the first moment he saw her, he began to fall for her.

"Listen Darien, I'm safe and sound with you and the guys here. We have alarm systems set up everywhere. Nothing's going to happen. If these people wanted me they would'v gotten me by now. So please just go to bed and get some rest." She begged quietly.

"Really Rena, I'm fine thanks to the coffee and this wonderful massage." He said sipping his coffee.

After a few more minutes of the massage Darien felt like he was going to crazy from her touch. He grabbed one of her hands to stop her. Serena was in a daze that she didn't realize that he had stopped her and that he had turned his chair to face her. She looked down into his eyes only to realize the mistake of getting trapped. He pulled her into his lap making her straddle him. She could see the desire in his eyes and it only excited her. He ran his fingers through her hair and down her back to pull her closer to him. He captured her lips softly and she melted into him. His tongue played with her lips begging for entrance. She responded to him quickly wrapping her arms around his neck. She never thought that his kisses could taste so good. She began to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. His lips left her to leave a trail of hot kisses down her neck. His hands were massaging her thighs and and began to come back to reality that this was so wrong and she shouldn't be enjoying it. They were tangled in an intimate way and she could only image what the others would think if they saw them. As Darien began to pull the straps of her night gown down she knew she had to stop this.

"Darien. We can't" She breathed pushing herself away from him slightly.

He had a dazed look and it took him a few seconds to realize what she had just said. He snapped out of it and looked at her flushed face. She untangled herself from him and began to straighten out her night gown. The peach silk was all wrinkled and twisted. She watched as Darien's eyes traveled up and down her form. The whole time he said nothing. He shook his head and took a deep breath.

"I know I should be saying I'm sorry, but I'm not. I had no right to touch you and I understand if you're disgusted in me." He said looking up at her with a shrug.

She nodded slightly, she was still trembling from his touch.

" Don't worry about it. I'm not sorry either." She said.

She then walked briskly out of the room and headed back to her bedroom. Her mind was swarming with what had just happened. It was wrong but she liked it. No... she loved it.

'What's wrong with me?' She thought to herself shaking her head.

She closed her bedroom door and began to pace.

"I should feel bad about this." She murmured. She sighed and sat on the edge of her bed and took a good look around her room. She notice the camera up in one of the corners. She went to her dresser and grabbed a black scarf. She went up to the camera and tossed it over the lens. She felt a little better and took off her night gown and jumped into bed hoping to get some sleep.

At the time Darien was pacing rapidly in the servalence room. He couldn't believe what just happened. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.

'I shouldn't be sorry. Wait a minute, I should. That's one of my best friend's wife." He thought shaking his head.

He sat back down and looked back at the cameras. Everything was fine except for Serena's. The whole screne was black. He began to panic slightly. He began trying to fix the monitor but it was perfectly fine and so were the wires.

"That's strange." He said aloud.

He then got up and headed straight to her bedroom. He forgot about everything for a moment only hoping that she was safe and sound. He barged into her room only to see her sleep form covered barely by her white silk sheets. All he could do was stand there and look at her. After a few minutes of watching her, he walked over to her camera to see a black scarf tied onto it. He smirked. He took the scarf off and turned the camera more towards the window. As he turned around to leave he saw her sitting up with the covers clutched to her chest. He had the grace to blush.

"Uh.. I came in here because the the monitor went black and I was worried about you." He mumbled quickly.

He started mumbling about some other stuff she couldn't hear. She smiled and scooted off the bed. She walked up to him and placed a finger on his lips to quiet him.

'If she only knew what her touch is doing to me." He thought.

"It's okay." She said softly looking up into his dreamy eyes.

Darien's hand covered hers for a moment and removed her hand from his lips. He knew he had to leave before he couldn't control himself.

"I should go. Sorry for disturbing you." He said quietly dropping her hand.

He quickly stepped back from her and head for the door closing it behind him. She stared after him wishing he'd com back in. Darien leaned heavily on the door with his eyes closed. He knew sleep was definetly not coming anytime soon.


	11. These are my confessions

Note: I am so sorry for not updating for a while. I have been so busy with work and classes, I just haven't had the time. Once again thanks for the reviews. I own the story not the characters.

Serena woke up to a loud knocking on the door.

"Girl, it's me! Wakie Wakie" Mina chirped in a sing song voice.

Serena rolled over groaned.

"Come in." She called. Mina came in and shut the door after her. She ran and jumped on the bed beside her sister. Serena whined and mumbled under her breath as she looke over at her sister.

"You looks as though you had a rough night." Mina examined.

Serena blushed slightly remembering last night, turning slightly away towards Mina.

"Can I tell you something and you promise not to say anything?"Serena asked in a low voice.

Mina saw the pleading look in her baby sister's face and nodded.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I- I tried to- well I thought about seducing Darien last night" She whispered blushing profusedly.

Mina's eyes went wide. She couldn't believe Serena was trying to be forward. It was expected of her but not Serena. Serena had already filled her in on the problems with Nephlite, but she couldn't believe Serena would try anything drastic. Mina smiled slyly.

"Well... Didn't know you had it in you" Mina said smirking. Serena grabbed a pillow and hit Mina.

"HEY" She yelped.

"Seriously Mina. I have mixed feelings right now. I don't want to be in this loveless marriage, it's just that I am starting to have feelings for Darien, I just don't want to seem like I using him as a rebound. Oh I don't know." Serena said becoming frustrated.

Mina sighed wishing she could smooth her sister's problems out.

"All I can tell you is to follow your heart, but take things slow." Mina said quietly.

Serena sat up and hugged her sister. Mina held her for a while. After a few moments of complete silence, Mina coughed.

"What is this little skimpy things you're wearing?" Mina asked really noticing what her sister was wearing.

"Under garments" Serena mumbled.

"Sure..." Mina said giggling getting off the bed.

"Whatever. Just leave so I can shower and change." Serena said crossing her arms.

X X X

"Ninety-three... Ninety -four... Ninety five" Darien counted.

HIs bedroom door opened and Malachite entered. Darien sat up on final time. He was doing a couple of sit ups.

"Hey what's up?" Malachite asked.

"Oh nothing. Just doing a little exercise." Darien said.

Michael eyed him for a few minutes. Darien shifted uncomfortably as Michael frowned at him.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" Darien said sighing.

"I saw the video tape of last night. I was just reveiwing after you went to sleep and I saw you in Serena's room last night-"

"It's not what you think." Darien said.

"Not what I think! Please man, I knew that you were a ladies man but I didn't think you'd go after your best friend's wife." Malachite said sternly.

Darien sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Will you just listen. Nothing happened last night, did you watch all of the tape?" Darien asked.

"No, after I saw her come up to you I turned it off." Malachite said beginning to feel rather foolish.

"Right after you saw that you automatically assumed the worse. I booked it after that, I knew I wouldn't be able to control myself so I just left. I believe that I'm falling in love with her and I know it's wrong." Darien said quietly.

Michael looked at Darien in suprise. After a few moments of silence Michael sighed.

" The man who claimed he'd never fall in love after some mysterious girl broke your heart now claims that you're falling in love. Not only that, but you're in love with a married woman. Well Dare, let's just say I'm glad I'm not you." Mike declared.

Darien snorted and layed on the floor and he closed his eyes for a second.

"Thanks for rubbing it in." Darien said very annoyed.

"Hey Dare, if you don't mind me asking, who was this mysterious girl." Malachite asked curiously.

Darien sighed and closed his eyes for a second.

"Lita" He murmured.

"What?" Michael exclaimed.

"Yup. It's complicated. We started dating in college and I was really in to her. For that time I was a one lady's man. I was crazy about her. When I met up with Neph in college that's when we became good friends. We talked about everything. We both had a similar situation- our fathers wanted us to take over the family business. My dad with his oil and diamond companies., and his dad with steel. We decided that when we were out of college we'd merge our companies if it was cool with our parents. I thought life couldn't get any better than that. I had a great girlfriend and a new best friend , my life was perfect. That was until I introduce the two after a few weeks. I always schedule time only for Lita then time with my boys. She meant a lot to me... Introducing them was a mistake. She broke up with me for him. I was planning on marrying her one day. I had no hard feelings... because I want to see her happy. Neph seemed really happy with her and asked for my blessing and I gave it. They lasted two years before they broke it - just wanting to be friends. Now, Lita works for us instead of her dad's company. Neph and I are partners like we planned. There was no need to split up over a female." Darien said pouring out.

He'd never really told anyone that before. It felt good to talk to someone about it. At this time, Serena was standing by the doorway listening to everything. She hadn't meant to easedrop but when she cracked the door open a little like she had did before, she couldn't help but listen. Lita was some woman to have had the heart of the one she was beginning to fall for and her husband's. There was no doubt in her mind that Nephlite was still seeing Lita. She sighed softly and made her way down stairs.


	12. The returned

Note: I have been so busy with work and classes, I just haven't had the time to update as much as I would like. Once again thanks for the reviews. I own the story not the characters.

There, all of the papers are signed. Now all you have to do is sign your name and your company is mine." Nephlite said sliding the papers across the table to the man who sat across from him. The man smiled happily; his green eyes twinkled with merriment.

"You know my boy, I feel terrible about threatening your immediate family and everything. I might have called the deal off if you hadn't lied about having a family- even if it is just a wife. The final time you asked me to drop the deal I was really considering it until my daughter informed me of your wife. I'm a man of my word and I hope you are too. Once I 've signed my name, you have to divorce your wife and marry my sweet Lita. You two should've been married a long time ago." The man said reminding Nephlite of the deal.

Nephlite nodded and Mr. Kino (Lita's father) signed the papers. Nephlite sighed lightly. This was something he wanted for a long time. He just didn't want to hurt Serena. She was his first love and all but Lita has his heart and her fathers company had more assets than he planned on telling Darien.

'I hate how everything is going to get complicated.' He thought frowning slightly.

Mr. Kino watched emotions cross Nephlite's face in amusement.

"Is anything the matter my boy?" He asked.

"No sir. I was just thinking." He murmured.

"About your wife?" Lita's father asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes sir. I was just hoping that I would have been able to divorce her by now. You gave me a year to convice Darien into letting me do some "project" on my own and it also gave me time to try to get rid of my marriage before you found out anything. It's just that I didn't have the heart to just dump her for no real reason." Nephlite explained.

"I see... well during this whole time you had my darling worried. I think you hurt her worse than ever when she found out about your wife, but I'm able to look past that. Now... if you hurt her again, I'll kill you personally."He said looking Nephlite dead in the eyes.

"Yes sir. I'm also sorry about that. I was just stupid." Nephlite murmured.

Mr. Kino signed the final page finalizing everything.

"Well , just know that your darling wife is in the good hands of your best friend. As Lita tells me, she thinks Darien is or will fall in love with her." He said picking up the papers, standing up.

Nephlite glared at him for a moment. He couldn't picture Serena with anyone but him. She was his. She always was. Lita's father must've known what he was thinking but he chuckled.

"My boy, You can't have your cake and eat it too. Just let the girl go. Lita's the one you want." He said leaving the office.

The more weeks passed...

Nephlite still hadn't contacted anyone and they probably had a search party or something going on. He didn't care. He just wasn't up to facing any of them. He turned over in the bed and looked down at the beauty next to him. Lita's breathing was like music to his ears. She was finally his, well almost. His fingers traced her jaw line making her smile in her sleep. She stirred and opened her eyes to see Nephlite looking down on her. THe past three weeks had been heaven to her. Every waking moment with the man she loved.

"Morning." His deep voice rumbled.

She smile and stretched out.

"Good Morning sweetie!" She saod sitting up to give him a kiss. He placed his hand in the middle of her back to hold her up to him as he deepend the kiss. As her arms shaked around his neck, the cover fell off of her naked form. Before things could continue, a knock came at the door. Nephlite growled at the interuption. Lita let go and giggled.

" What do you want?" Nephlite called out very annoyed.

"Mr. Kino would like to see you both." came one of the servants' voice.

"Alright!" Nephlite called out very annoyed.

He looked down at Lita to see she was looking at her engagement ring.

"You know father wants you to go break the news to Serena and everyone so we can be together." She said quietly.

"Yeah I know." he mumbled.

"You know I wish Serena and I could have become friends. We should'v e met at a different time in life." Lita said quietly.

"Let's not talk about her right now. We need to go get dressed and see your father." He said taking her hand/

Serena woke up with a crook in her neck. She looked around to see that she fell asleep in the kitchen with the phone near by. The past weeks had been heaven and hell without Nephlite. The first weeks was fine. She was enjoying her sister and Darien's company. After not hearing from after that week she began to worry. She hired a private investigator and a search party to look for Nephlite. They couldn't find anything. She was worried sick. Darien had held her hand the whole time and comforted her. She was grateful to have him.

Flashback 

It was 10:00 at night and everyone was heading to bed but Serena and Darien.

" Come on now, you need your rest. Staying up all night is going to make him show up. AND staring at the phone isn't going to make it ring." Darien said trying to make Serena go to bed.

"I can't help it. What if they killed him? No! I can't think fo that but-

"Serena - stop it. You're going to drive yourself crazy. If someone calls I'll make sure you're the first to know in fact I'll stay down here in the living room just in case someone shows up or if the phone rings." Darien suggested. She looked at him in suprise.

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Of course. you should know by now that I'll do anything for you" He said smiling down on her.

"Well if you're staying up then I will too." She said returning the smile.

" If you're staying down here then you have to go to sleep." Darien said

"Okay. Scouts honor." She said saluting.

He laughed at her and took the phone off the charger and headed out of the kitchen. He headed upstairs and came back a few minutes later. Serena went into the living roomand watched him come back in pajamas and a blanket.

"Well, you might as well get some pjs on and get comfortable if your're sleeping down here." He said

Serena hurried upstairs and came back down in a long, modest silk night gown that was pink. When she entered the living room she noticed that Darien had a long sofa.

"Hey, I want that sofa. I'll be cramped on the love seat." Serena whined pouting slightly.

"You snooze you lose. Plus sweetie, I'm a big man I gotta have my room." He said grinning

Serena couldn't believe him. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

"You know, you could always share it with me if you like." Darien said scooting back towards the cushions makign room.

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment.

"What? I won't bite." He said defensively.

"Oh alright." She said findign herself make her way over to him.

He threw the cover back as she climbed on under him. She found herself snuggling up against him and closed her eyes so she didn't have to look up at him. As she found herself relaxing into him she felt a small pain on her earlobe.

"Hey!" She snapped looking up at him.

"Well, I bite- just a lil bit." He said chuckling.

She rolled her eyes and tried to get comfortable again. Darien sighed and wrapped his arm around her. That had to be the best sleep she got in a long time.

End of Flashback 

Serena found herself smiling- remembering that night. Darien is a wonderful man. She also remembered that she didn't mean to fall asleep down here. She had just got up in the middle of the night for some water and she must've drifted off. SHe came out of her thoughts and she felt two hands beginning to massage her shoulders and neck. She turned around to see Darien

"Good Morning." He said letting go .

"Please continue. I have this really bad crook in my neck." She said turning back around.

As he continued to work his magic on her, she closed her eyes relaxing. Darien knew that while they were alone he had to do what he'd been wanting to. As he massaged her with one hand, he moved her hair over her right shoulder. He then leaned down and kissed her neck softly. She tensed up for a second but didn't say anything. He took that as a sign to continue. He kissed her neck again in the same spot and began using his free hand to continue massaging her. He continued to rain soft kisses on her neck and she began to relax again- know it was wrong to let it continue. He then made a trail of kisses to her jawbone up to her cheek. Some where along that time he had stopped massaging her. She felt him kiss her lips. A shock went through herand she opened her eyes as she felt her mouth open to let his tongue in. She noticed that he was on his knees in front of her. Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt his arm come around her waist. His hand slid under the back of her pajama top. and she knew she had to stop this before it got out of control. She pulled away from him.

"Darien" She began

He shushed her holding a finger to her lip. He kissed her again and sighed. He took both of her hands in his.

"Listen before I lose my nerve. I know I have no right to hold you or to kiss you but I can't help it. I think everyone in this house knows how badly I care for you. I know now isn't the time but I feel that they'll never be another chance for me to say any of this. Nephlite doesn't deserve a great loving woman as yourself. I'd give anything in the world to have your love- to be him. Serena Brights, I'm in love with you. I know you may think I'm crazy but Iam . It seems like I've known you forever. I hate for anything bad to ever happen to my friend, but if he doesn't come back,let me make you happy or at least die trying." He pleaded looking up into her eyes.

At this point, tears were flowing from her eyes. She was to bewildered and shock to say anything. Before the conversation could continue someone came into the kitchen.

"Well... I can see now that I was barely missed." came a voice.

Serena looked up to see Nephlite standing there.

"Neph!" She cried.


	13. Truth

Note: Hey everyone, I am so so so sorry about the long wait. I have been busy with classes, work, and everything has been so stressful for me. There will be one more chapter after this one I believe and this story is complete. I don't own anything but the story. Please enjoy.

"Well... I can see now that I was barely missed." came a voice.  
Serena looked up to see Nephlite standing there.  
"Neph!" She cried.

Serena jumped up from the table and ran into his arms crying. He chuckled softly. Darien stood up and clenched his jaw feeling foolish for making those declarations of love but he refused to take any of them back. Nephlite held Serena at arms length and wiped the tears off of her face with the pads of his thumbs. Before she could regain herself and tell him what was going on she notice that Lita had came in.

She was dressed in a light green spaghetti strap dress that hugged her figure. Her hair was piled on top of her head making her look even more beautiful. In her hand was a manila envelope. Serena looked up at Nephlite questionly.

"What's going on and why are you here?" Serena asked them backing up a little.

Nephlite sighed heavily he was going to hate doing this; Lita walked up to him boldly and took his hand. Serena eyes flashed coldly as she watched Lita. Lita handed Serena the folder.

"What's this?" She asked almost afraid to open the envelope.  
" Divorce papers." Lita said quietly.  
"Oh and papers that will unconnect our companies." Nephlite said towards Darien.

"What do you mean?" Serena said her voice breaking slightly.  
" It's a long story but I tell you the short version..." Nephlite started.

Serena couldn't believe what he was telling her and she couldn't believe she was just standing there listening, but she was too stunned to move. Darien couldn't believe that Nephlite had put Serena through so much. He stepped up and put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't even acknowledge that he was there or for the fact anyone. Tears were streaming down her face and she just stood there. He prayed to God that she'd get through this. Lita felt terrible for her part in all this but she wanted to be with the man she truly loved at any cost. She reached a hand out to Serena and suprisingly Serena grabbed her wrist. Lita gasped a little. Serena swung out an slapped her in the face. Nephlite was suprised and angry.

"Don't you dare touch her again." His voice boomed at Serena.  
Serena slapped him too. His eyes darkened.  
"I thought I told you never to hit me again." He snarled.  
"And I thought I told you to never tell me what to do again." She yelled.

Nephlite raised his hand as to hit her but Darien stopped him.  
"Rethink doing that." Darien said coldly but calmly.

Nephlite grabbed his arm away straightened out his jacket.  
" I don't have to take any of this. Oh and Darien thanks for being a good friend and lover to my wife. Don't think I don't know about you wanting her. You know what, once this divorce is final you can be together." Nephlite said smartly.

At this point the others came down stairs to hear all of the noise. Serena silently left the room almost unnoticed and went to Nephlite's office. She went to the drawer and a grabbed a pen. She quickly signed the paper through and noticed Nephlite's gun. She grabbed it and headed back to the stairs. 


	14. Chaos

Note: I don't own any of the characters just the story. Hope you like the story, if not no bad reviews please, Oh and sorry for the long wait.

There was a lot of yelling going on as Serena watched the scene down below her. She took the safety off of the gun and fired at the ceiling. Mina and Lita screamed at the sound. Everyone looked up to see her holding the gun above her head. Nephlite paled slightly.

'She's going to kill me.' He thought gulping.

Darien saw the wild look in Serena's eyes and he carefully approached the stairs.

"Serena… what are you doing? Come on, put the gun down." He pleaded softly.

She looked and him then back at Nephlite and Lita.

"No" She said hiccupping as tears continued to fall down her face, " I won't. Here Darien, sign those stupid papers"

She threw down the pen and the file to Darien. Papers floated everywhere. Everyone was silent as Darien collected the papers and signed them.

"Seren-" Nephlite began

"Shut the hell up Nephlite!" She yelled at him

He closed his mouth and gulped

"You have no clue what you put me through these past weeks. Just take your stupid papers and whore and get out." She said crying waving the gun towards the front door.

Darien quickly handed the papers over. Nephlite and Lita quickly made their way to the door.

"I didn't know you married a lunatic" Lita murmured softly to Nephlite.

"Hush" Nephlite said angrily.

Once they were out, Serena collapsed to the floor weakly and dropped the gun. Darien eased up the stairs and moved the gun away from her. He put the safety on and tossed the gun to Jackson. He then sat on the stair by her feet and took her hand. She smiled at him weakly and gently pulled her hand away.

"I need to be left alone right now." She murmured and got up.

She went up the stairs and barricaded herself in her bed room. Darien sat there for a moment and sighed. He turned back to the others to see that they needed to be filled in.

'This is going to be a long day' he thought and headed back down to them.

The next day….

Serena finished packing her belongings she had there. She hadn't spoken to anyone at all. She was still locked in her room. She picked up her suitcases and headed to the door. When she opened it she saw Darien asleep on the floor. He had been so good to her. She really didn't deserve his love. She opened her purse and pulled out an envelope. She placed it on him and kissed his cheek. He stirred but didn't awaken. She grabbed her bags and stepped over him and headed downstairs.

In the living room she noticed that Mina was up .

"Where are you going" Mina asked panicking, rushing to her side.

"I gotta go. I can't stay here. I have a plane to catch. I'm going back to my old house. I have to pack up my things there. I can't stay there either. I do have some money saved I can get a small house or condo somewhere." She murmured trying not to cry again.

" No. You can stay at my house. I'll close everything up here and you can head to my house. You still have the key to there." Mina reasoned.

Serena nodded and hugged her sister.

"I have to go before Darien wakes up. Love you, bye" She hurried almost running to the front door.

One chapter left! Coming extremely soon. Sorry for the very long wait.


	15. The End

Note: I don't own any of the characters just the story. Hope you like the story, if not no bad reviews please, Oh and sorry for the long wait. This is the last chapter!

Five months has passed since everything happened and everything seems to have calmed down- sort of. Serena looked over at the alarm clock at her right. 10:00am. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Nephlite had given her a pretty bit of money that would take care of her until she get remarried which could be awhile. He also left her the estate they lived in together. She sold it of course because of all the memories. She had started hunting for a small house but in the mean time she was still staying with Mina and haven't talked to Darien. He tried calling and visiting constantly but she hadn't felt up to seeing him yet. Her heart was too broken.

A slight knock came at her bedroom door before Mina entered.

"Mornin girlfriend" Mina chirped, coming up to sit on the bed.

"Mornin" Serena murmured.

"You sleep okay?" she asked ruffling Serena's bangs.

"Yeah sort of, I guess better than most nights."

"Well, that's good. Look, I'm going out for a few hours so… breakfast is already ready so get up and eat when you want."

"Alright, thanks sis. I love you so much. Thanks for letting me stay here- for the millionth time" Serena said sitting up with a soft smile.

"Girl, no problem- for the millionth time. I love you too. Now I must go. See ya." Mina said giggling, hugging her sister.

Mina kissed her sister's cheek and headed out. Once Serena heard the front door open and closed, she got out of bed. She headed into her private bathroom and brushed her teeth and showered peacefully. She closed her eyes and let the warm water wash over her. She began thinking about how she enjoyed being free. She had been so attached to Nephlite for so long she didn't know what it was like to never completely relax and learn to be happy. Through the months, she had found an inner peace and was able to try to help herself heal. She did miss Darien and thought of him constantly but she wanted to make sure she actually had true feelings for him and not just use him. She thought of returning his calls bust she lost her nerve every time. When he called upon the house she wasn't there or she told Mina to cover for her. He always left her letters or flowers.

"One day…" She murmured.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in her pink terry robe. She headed out of her bathroom and headed to the kitchen. As she stepped out of her room, she noticed a trail of pink, white, red rose petals scattered across the floor. She wondered how they got there, also wondering if Mina and Malachite had a romantic night last night. As she headed to the kitchen she froze at the sight before her in the living room. Dozens of roses in every color was in the living room. Plus, Darien was standing there dressed in a tuxedo waiting patiently for her. She eyed him from the top of his cute messy hair to his immaculate shoes. He smiled softly at her, love filling his eyes. She felts and though she was going to pass out. She smiled back weakly.

"Darien …" She began breathlessly.

He held up a hand to stop her from talking. He walked up to her and took one of her hands gently. He led her into the kitchen. There was a plate of food on the table and it had all of her favorite breakfast foods. He sat her ate the table and took the seat next to her.

"Just eat and listen to what I have to say." He said softly.

Serena felt as though she was in a dream and she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She was afraid he'd disappear if she looked away. AND she missed his voice- it was so wonderful to hear. She picked up her fork and began moving the food around not really interested in it. Her heart was beating so fast and Darien looked so nervous and vulnerable.

'Here goes nothing.' He thought to himself.

He took a deep breath and began: " First off, I'd like to say that you're more beautiful than ever. I've been dying to see you since you left. I was terrified to find you gone and extremely worried. Mina has kept me updated though but I wanted to see you for myself. I know you don't know how you feel about me but I do know that I'm in love with you. I've never felt like this over anyone. I thought I had love once but that cannot compare with what I feel for you. Serena, I want to make you happy- or at least die trying. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know you're not ready for that but I want you to know that I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. So I wanted to take you out on a date today. If you'll have me."

Somewhere during his declaration he didn't notice that he had started crying. Serena had long ago dropped her fork and started crying softly. She got out of her chair and sat in his lap. She took his face and kissed him fiercely. She could help herself. She missed the softness of his lips and he did hers. Darien felt as though he was in heaven. Nothing could be better than having her in his arms. He broke the kiss smiling. He wiped her tears and started laughing.

"I take that as a yes, you'll go out with me" He said looking down on her.

"You bet." She said kissing him again.

They spent the rest of the morning in each other's arms talking. Serena knew then that everything was going to work out and she have some good sleep that night.


End file.
